


Fairy Tale Station

by Pony Girl (Jackjunkie)



Category: Young Riders
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Fantasy, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-24
Updated: 2012-11-24
Packaged: 2017-11-19 09:02:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/571548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jackjunkie/pseuds/Pony%20Girl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once upon a time the young riders adventured on a quest in a fairy tale kingdom.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fairy Tale Station

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published in the zine The Pony Express #4

Once upon a time in the Kingdom of the Sweet Water, there lived a wise old king, Teaspoon the Hunter. King Teaspoon ruled his kingdom with a kind and just hand and his subjects prospered.

The main source of their prosperity was the spring of sweet water from which the kingdom took its name. The water from the spring was clear and cold and sweet and abundant. Its fame spread far and wide and people from other lands were eager to partake of the delectable beverage. Goods of every kind were exchanged for the water and all were content with the fair trade.

Happiness and well-being blossomed across the land until one dark day when misfortune was visited upon the kingdom. The water of the spring was sweet no more. Brown it turned, muddy and unfit to drink. A great lament went up at the loss. All in the kingdom depended on the spring for their livelihood, from the rich merchant Tompkins to the smallest child with a fivepenny lemonade stand, for what use were the finest lemons without the sweet spring water to mix with them? The people turned to their king to show them the way out of this unlucky turn of fate.

The king’s counselor, the young sorcerer Buck of the Cross, advised the king that there was a way to turn the water sweet again. It must be touched by the horn of the mystical spotted unicorn that lived deep in the Darkwood across the far border of the kingdom. No one there lived who had ever seen the legendary beast, but the sorcerer knew of no other way to lift the curse that had befallen them.

Now the king had a daughter, the fair Princess Louise. Louise was her father’s pride and joy and was much beloved by her people. Though small of stature, she was as strong as she was beautiful. She had been raised by her father after the death of the queen her mother, and so her training in the womanly arts had been somewhat neglected. Instead of wielding a needle to produce a fine tapestry, she had been taught to wield a sword, a bow, and a lance. From a young age, she had accompanied her father on the hunting expeditions of which he was so fond, and had become quite skilled at all the tasks generally considered to be the province of the boys who were her friends and who looked upon her as their equal.

Among these young men was one who hoped to be more than a friend. Hailing from a neighboring kingdom, he was the one they called Prince Kid. Tall and straight and handsome, with clear blue eyes and light brown locks, his regal bearing proclaimed him every inch the prince. His courteous demeanor and his resolute principles bespoke his royal character. Proficient with a sword, he yet had a tender heart. He and Princess Louise had been frequent visitors to each other’s castles since childhood and had grown up as close companions. Now they were grown, Kid was a suitor for the hand of the princess. Her father looked with favor upon the match as, truth be told, did Louise, and King Teaspoon treated the prince as his own son.

When the princess heard the counselor’s decree, she determined that she would hunt the fabled unicorn and bring back its horn to return their water to its former sweetness. Her father was a hunter whose prowess was unsurpassed, but he could not leave his people in their hour of need. His leadership was essential, his place at court. The princess had learned her father’s lessons well, however, and though the king could not risk the dangers of the Darkwood, there was nothing to stop the princess from doing so. Louise went to her father to inform him of her decision.

When Prince Kid heard what the princess planned, he knew he must accompany her. It was the custom in both their lands that when a prince and princess desired to marry, they must complete a quest together to demonstrate their fitness to unite in a common rule. This would be a worthy quest for the Prince Kid and the Princess Louise. They would hunt the unicorn together.

The king assembled his court and stood before his throne to announce the glad tidings: the princess and her betrothed would take up the quest to free the kingdom from its blight and return it to its former glory. The people cheered the bravery of their princess and her prince.

At once a knight stepped forward and knelt gracefully before the king to ask leave to join the quest. He was Sir James of Hickok, the most valiant knight in all the kingdom, faithful friend to the prince and princess both. A champion jouster of great renown, he had never been bested at any tournament.

With a lazy grin, the court jester, Cody the Clown, leant upon his staff and gave his pronouncement that they would be as well-served by a jester as a jouster since they would more likely have need of laughter than of lance to keep the shadows in the Darkwood at bay.

Stating that magic might prove a useful weapon against those shadows as well, the sorcerer Buck next asked the king’s permission to accompany them. The searchers would have need of a guide and, since he alone had any knowledge of the mysterious beast they sought, he might be their sole means of locating it.

A chord was strummed upon a lute and the court’s minstrel observed in his melodious voice that they would need a chronicler to record the marvelous tale of such a quest and he was the very man for that job. He strummed again and favored them with the opening lines he’d already composed for the ballad of the quest and all fell silent to listen for Ike McSwain was blessed with such a wondrous voice that people came from miles around just to hear him sing.

Princess Louise rejoiced to have these steadfast companions she knew she could count on join in the quest to help her people. With an admonition from the king to rideth safe, the six friends set forth on their quest.

*****

The travelers rode by day and camped by night until they reached the Deep River at the edge of the Darkwood. They drew up their horses side by side and gazed at what lay before them.

A narrow bridge arched from shore. It was the only way across. Passage, however, was blocked. Entry into the Darkwood was guarded by a giant full seven feet tall, broad of shoulder and thick of muscle. The guardian stepped forward and issued his challenge.

“Who would enter the Darkwood must fight me for the privilege! Send forth your champion!”

Five pairs of eyes turned to the sixth. All knew who among them must answer the challenge. Sir James walked his golden steed forward a few paces and answered, “I, Sir James of Hickok, will meet your challenge.”

He dismounted and approached the bridge. Belted at his waist were his twin swords, remarkable for their craftsmanship and their pearl hilts that shone white as the swans sunning themselves on the river’s bank. Many were the men who trembled at the prospect of facing those famous twin swords. The giant was not one of them.

“Come ahead, Sir James,” the giant invited. “If you should best me, all may pass.” He smiled a great smile with his crooked teeth as he drew a sword from his scabbard. “But I would not wager on your doing so.”

“Then you would come away from that wager the poorer man,” said Sir James, drawing a sword in turn.

They met at the bridge and the battle was joined. Hickok’s sword slammed up to meet the giant’s as it cut down from its lofty height, and the clash of metal on metal resounded through the air.

Hickok had fought many opponents, but never one quite so large as the guardian giant. He barely managed to hold his own against the brute strength. His sword glanced off the giant’s with seemingly no impact. The giant’s sword swept down, but Hickok called his speed and agility into play. He whirled away and back to strike again. Using all his other skills, he began to counteract the brawn he could not hope to match. Bit by bit, he was gaining ground, maneuvering the giant back onto the bridge.

Suddenly the giant gave a great yell and swung the flat of his sword against Hickok’s body, the full force of his enormous strength behind it. Hickok’s sword flew from his hand as he toppled off the bridge and splashed into the water below.

A cry arose among his comrades.

“Someone help him! Sir James cannot swim!” the princess pleaded as Hickok sank beneath the surface.

At once the wizard Buck reached out toward the water. Extending his staff of hazel wood and throwing back his head, he recited an incantation. The river began to churn and something rose slowly from the depths, water cascading down over its sides as it travelled upward. Hickok emerged from below, seated upon a block of ice which floated to the surface as it froze.

Sodden and somewhat frozen himself, Hickok rode the miniature iceberg to the edge of the bridge. Bellowing with rage and brandishing his second sword, he vaulted onto the structure and faced the giant once more.

“Let us have at it again, giant!” he cried as he set to with renewed vigor. Fury lent him a fierceness that seemed to empower his arm beyond its normal ability. He pressed the giant back and back until this time it was Sir James who sent the giant tumbling over the bridge. With no wizard to come to the giant’s aid, the victory was Hickok’s.

Sir James picked up his other sword where it lay on the bridge, thrust them both back into their scabbards, and leant over the rail to regard the river. Spitting water and sending small tidal waves before him, the giant made his way to shore where he gladly yielded to the champion. He kept his word and the six friends passed over the bridge and into the Darkwood.

*****

With the flush of battle behind him, Sir James started to shiver from the chill. The effects of being frozen on the ice were catching up with him. The group stopped to build a fire so he could dry out and warm up.

Hickok sneezed. He gave the wizard a long-suffering look. “’Tis not the wet I mind so much, ‘tis the cold. Not that I’m complaining, Buck, but couldn’t you think of some other way to help that didn’t involve freezing my backside off?”

“Sorry, it was the first spell that came to mind,” Buck explained.

“There wasn’t a whole lot of time to pick and choose,” Prince Kid pointed out reasonably.

“Oh, among his spells the sorcerer chose, Sir James was a-drowning so the river he froze,” sang Ike softly to himself as he plucked a series of notes. “With a hey nonny nonny… no, that part’s not right.” He continued to pluck and hum.

“’Tis just that I feel like I brought an awful lot of the river way with me,” Sir James continued, wringing the last drops out of his jerkin and then holding it up to examine. “These clothes are pretty well ruined.”

“A sorry soggy spectacle it is,” Cody agreed. “But then, a sorry if unsoggy spectacle it was to begin with. Face it, Hickok, you’re just not a snappy dresser like, say, I am for instance.” He preened a bit as he smoothed down a brightly colored sleeve of his motley.

“What a peacock it is,” piped up a new voice. They all looked to see who had spoken. A small, grotesque looking man was standing at the edge of the circle they formed around their campfire. He was dressed all in green and cackling as he watched the jester.

“Buck!” Cody suddenly squawked, clutching at his throat. “Buck… uck… awk!”

As they all watched horrified, the jester’s multi-colored silks melted and blended into a feathery sheen overlaying mainly blues and greens, as Cody himself shrank smaller and smaller. Soon a bird stood before them, the aforenamed peacock in fact, squawking and jumping from foot to foot.

“Cody!” exclaimed the Princess Louise. “What have you done to him, you… you goblin! Change him back right now!” Three swords loosed from their scabbards as Prince Kid and Sir James backed up the princess.

The cackling stopped as the goblin faced the three blades of steel pointed at his heart.

“’Twas but a joke,” he protested. “But if that’s the way you feel about it… there!” So saying, the goblin snatched up a handful of leaves and threw them at the peacock. As they showered down over the flapping bird, the friends watched to see the transformation return Cody to his true form. Taking advantage of their distraction, the goblin scampered away into the underbrush.

As the leaves settled to earth, the peacock remained a peacock. Snarling in frustration, Sir James turned back to where the goblin had stood only moments before, to see that he had vanished. A cackling floated to them from the woods. Hickok started forward but was held back by the princess.

“Stay, Sir James,” commanded Louise. “Ye’ll never catch him now. These are his woods.”

Hickok admitted the truth of her advice and put up his sword. The prince followed suit.

“Buck, can you do anything for him?” asked Kid. “Do you know how to reverse the spell?”

“I will try,” said the sorcerer, but it was to no avail. Nothing he did could counteract the goblin’s magic.

“I do not understand,” said Hickok. “You’re a sorcerer, are you not? Why can you not fix this?”

“I am but a young sorcerer,” Buck answered. “And that appeared to be a very old goblin. I have much yet to learn of the art of magic. Perhaps I will come up with the right spell eventually.”

“We have to go on,” said Louise. “We will just have to take Cody along with us like that. Buck can keep trying as we go.”

“Despite the jester’s new tail, they took up their trail, with a hey nonny nonny,” sang Ike as they broke camp. “Yes, that’s better.”

So the travelers continued on their path through the Darkwood, a most unhappy peacock squawking now and then in their midst.

*****

They stopped again at midday to partake of a meal. As they were repacking their provisions and preparing to resume their journey, they noticed a fog beginning to swirl through the wood. It was close to the ground, making it difficult to see their feet as they walked. They paid it little mind until the princess looked around for Cody and realized the peacock was nowhere to be seen. She called his name, but no answering squawk was heard.

By this time the fog had risen to their knees. Fearing their friend had wandered unable to see and met with some mishap, they began to search in earnest. Soon the fog rose to their waists, their chests, their necks. It was all around them and over them, blocking their vision, muffling all sound. They had separated to search and each was now alone, unable to see or hear the others. Still they searched and called Cody’s name.

“Cody, where are you?” called the princess.

“Cody, you don’t answer me, so help me when I find you, dinner’s gonna be peacock stew,” threatened Sir James with no luck.

Buck tried a finding spell, but all he found was a pea patch and a nest of sparrows. “The damp must be affecting my magic,” he worried and walked on.

Ike sang and played as he looked. “They searched for the peacock through mist and through fog, under each bush and behind every log.” He plucked a string and produced a particularly nasty twang. Taken aback, he plucked again. The same horrible sound twanged again.

Ike held his lute up to eye level to examine it. “The moisture must be damaging it,” he muttered. “To say sooth, this fog is as thick as peacock soup, if our friend Cody will pardon the pun.”

The troubadour ran his fingers lovingly over the satiny wood, but could find no warp. He almost dropped the lute when the sound came again, this time with less of a twang and more of a screech. “Now I know that wasn’t I,” he said and turned to see the missing peacock materialize out of the fog.

“There you are, Cody,” he said in some relief. “We were worried about you. Where did you wander off to?”

In answer, Cody simply spread his magnificent tail. Another bird walked through the drifting wisps of fog to stand by his side. This creature was a bit smaller than the peacock, much duller in color, and without the resplendent tail plumage. Ike had no trouble identifying both the bird and the circumstances.

“I might have known,” he shook his head. “Leave it to you, Cody, to find a female to flirt with, even in your condition. You’d best say your good-byes now, though. We have to find the others.”

Try as he might, however, Ike could not obtain Cody’s cooperation in shooing away the peahen. The peacock became very agitated over Ike’s efforts and placed himself protectively in front of the other bird. He seemed to be insisting she be allowed to remain.

Ike gave in at last and turned his attention to gathering the group together again. The fog was not getting any better. Droplets beaded up and dripped off them, wilting the birds’ feathers and curling Ike’s thick, black hair. Deciding the easiest course might be to get their companions to come to him, he began to play a tune.

Throughout the wood the notes penetrated the dense fog and drew the travelers together once again. They looked to Buck to lead them out of the white cloud enveloping them. Weaving his magic around the music which he perceived to travel through the haze without difficulty, the young sorcerer soon put them back on the right path.

*****

They traveled until they lost the last of the light and then camped for the night. All were tired out by the eventful day and slept soundly.

The princess dreamed of her goal, a successful hunt. She bore the unicorn’s horn triumphantly home to save her people. Smiling as she slept, she gradually became aware of a sensation of something pressing against her lips—something cold and rubbery and not altogether pleasant. Opening her eyes, she was startled to behold the upside-down countenance of a green frog which was sitting on her forehead and bending over to kiss her on her lips. She let out a shriek and sat up abruptly, tumbling the frog to the ground.

The prince and the others roused immediately, ready to defend their princess from whatever danger threatened. Instead of the bandits or bogles they expected, they saw only the frog sprawled at Louise’s feet as she made a sour face and wiped her hand across her mouth.

As they watched, though, they beheld a strange sight. The frog began to grow and as it grew it changed form and color. Taller and tanner and hairier it grew until a human figure dressed in rich raiment stood before them. He swept off his hat, bowed deeply and apologized.

“Please excuse the familiarity, your Highness, but you can see it was dire need that drove me to steal a kiss.”

“Who are you?” the princess gave voice to the question they all were thinking.

“I am Lord Cain and I was put under a spell by a horrible little goblin. I knew my best hope of breaking the spell was to find a princess to kiss, and seeing you here in this noble company I hoped I had found one at last. Luckily I was right. Indeed I trust I may prevail on you yet once more to free my faithful knight from this selfsame curse.” The lord indicated another frog that had escaped their notice in all the commotion.

“I will gladly grant you this small boon,” said the princess graciously and only a tiny bit hesitantly. The lord held up his small, green friend and the princess closed her eyes, held her breath, and planted a demure peck upon his froggy lips.

A transformation like the first took place and another man stood before them.

“Your Lordship,” he greeted, going down on one knee. “Princess, I humbly thank you.”

“It is good to look again upon your true form, Sir Barnett,” said Lord Cain.

“Princess Louise,” the wizard Buck broke in upon these civilities. He considered the frog lord and the frog knight. “If your kiss broke the enchantment upon these gentlemen, I wonder if it might not work on our friend Cody in a like manner.”

“Let us try it at once,” agreed the princess. Kneeling on the forest floor, she bent and kissed the peacock upon his beak. In a flash, their own Cody was restored to them.

There were shouts of “huzzah” and much jubilation. Amid the back-slapping and shoulder-cuffing, Cody bethought him of something and began to look around. Spying the object of his concern, he ducked out from under the good-natured revelry to fetch the other bird. Cradling her gently in his arms, he returned to his friends.

“Cody, do you not think your altered circumstances rule out any further, er, involvement with your feathered friend?” asked Prince Kid in bewilderment.

“Methinks he came out of that bewitchment more of a birdbrain than he went in,” Hickok grinned.

“It taketh one to knoweth one,” Ike murmured in an aside to Buck.

“Maybe he was under that evil charm too long,” Buck fretted. “I should have thought of the princess’ kiss right away. I studied that in basic spellbreaking.”

“No, you don’t understand,” Cody insisted. “This is no ordinary bird. We need one more kiss, your Highness. That’s why I could not leave her behind. She’s enchanted, too.”

So one more time the princess bestowed her healing kiss and the plain peahen became a beautiful lady with golden hair and a silken dress.

“Lady Emma!” Lord Cain exclaimed.

“Sam!” the lady joyfully responded.

Their story was soon told. It was to rescue the Lady Emma that Lord Cain and Sir Barnett had come to the Darkwood when she had gotten lost en route to his manor for their wedding. The rest of the search parties had all given up, but her betrothed would not face defeat and had entered the Darkwood with one devoted knight to continue the search. All three had fallen under spells cast apparently by the same mischievous goblin who had played his tricks on Cody.

In gratitude for taking such care of his lady love, Lord Cain unpinned a jeweled clasp in the shape of a star from his cloak and bestowed it on Cody. The jester bent to pick up a peacock’s tail feather he noticed lying on the forest floor. He fastened it proudly to his cap with the brooch to remind him of his adventure.

The Lady Emma voiced her preference to forget the incident except of course for her new friends and invited them all to her wedding. Prince Kid and Princess Louise issued an invitation to theirs in turn, and then everyone sat down to a cordial breakfast before breaking camp.

Making their farewells, Lady Emma, Lord Cain, and Sir Barnett wished the six travelers a successful outcome to their quest, as the lord and knight had enjoyed on theirs. Happily reunited, the three were anxious to return home to assure their families and friends that they were alive and well.

With a last kiss form the Lady Emma for her blushing heroic jester, the new friends parted and went their separate ways.

*****

The horses slowly picked their way through the tangled undergrowth of the wood. Buck led the group forward as he had done from the start until he came to a place where the trail diverged. The path on the left climbed while the other sloped downward. Receiving confusing signals from his tracking spells, the sorcerer could tell they were closing in, but was unsure which direction would lead them to their goal.

“I will scout ahead to see if I can determine which is the correct path. The rest of you wait here for me,” he instructed.

Leaving his horse behind, he went ahead on foot, following the higher trail. Magically transforming himself into a deer, he ran fleetly up the height, far more agilely than their heavy battle horses would be able to cover the ground.

Eventually he came out onto a ridge where he could overlook a vast area of the wood. He stopped, his forehooves brushing the edge of the precipice, his stag’s head with its heavy rack swinging back and forth as he took in the view spread out below him. He could see that the lower path led into a meadow where grazed the very prize they sought: The spotted unicorn. He turned and ran nimbly back to the others.

When the running buck had changed into a man once again, he told them what he had seen. The end of their quest was in sight.

They rode along the lower path with all possible haste. Pulling up just short of the meadow, they dismounted and crept forward, taking great care to remain hidden.

At the edge of the meadow a wondrous sight met their eyes. A unicorn grazed in the lush grass by a rippling stream. She was a mixture of milky white and coppery red, as if her colors had been splashed on her coat as an artist splashes paint on a canvas. From her white forehead sprung a single horn, alternate strips of red and white spiraling along it to meet finally at the tip. They had seen many pictures of unicorns, none of which did justice to the living one that stood before them. Never had they imagined such markings.

“She’s beautiful,” breathed Prince Kid.

“She’s mine,” said Princess Louise in a determined tone that brooked no argument. She ran silently back to her horse to retrieve her weapons. Fitting an arrow to her bow, she took careful aim, sighting on the unicorn’s heart.

The unicorn lifted her head and looked in their direction, chewing peacefully on a mouthful of grass and slowly swishing her tail. Louise watched her, she who had killed countless times on the hunt, who had learned of the blood sport as a child, who was a celebrated hunter’s daughter. She lowered her arrow, the bowstring slack.

“I cannot,” she declared. “I know I must, yet somehow I cannot kill this beast.”

“You need its horn, Princess,” Sir James reminded her.

“Does it follow that the horn must be separated from the unicorn’s dead body?” questioned the prince.

“How say you, Buck?” asked the princess with sudden hope. “May we bring back the horn still attached to its living bearer?”

“I know of nothing to disallow it,” admitted the sorcerer.

“It will not be a simple task to capture such a prize,” warned Cody.

“That is true,” agreed Buck. “The unicorn can only be approached by the pure of heart.”

“That leaves Cody out,” Hickok said.

“Yea, verily. Forsooth,” the others agreed.

“It is Louise and I who must complete the quest,” Prince Kid declared.

The princess nodded her agreement and laid down her weapons. The two of them circled around the clearing to approach the beast from opposite directions. Taking great care, they walked quietly towards her. She showed no alarm at their approach, but suffered them to come close.

The prince reached out a tentative hand, careful to avoid the sharp horn, and gently stroked her muzzle. She tossed her head, then nuzzled against his chest. He laughed in delight.

“She likes you, Kid!” exclaimed the princess in amazement. Emboldened, she patted the unicorn on the neck. The unicorn turned her head toward Louise and nickered softly.

“I think she wants to be friends,” affirmed the prince. “Maybe she’s lonely.”

They turned to walk back toward their companions and the unicorn followed them willingly.

The others gathered round, each wanting to touch the magical animal. She patiently allowed them all to pet her and even seemed to enjoy the contact. When they had expressed their fill of wonder, they prepared to start their return journey. Their quest was successful. They had found the spotted unicorn.

Ike played and sang as they moved off. “And so they did end the kingdom’s grave strife, the magic they found was in sparing a life.”

*****

When the six comrades returned home, they led the spotted unicorn in triumphant procession to the spring, where she dipped her horn in the murky water. There was a swirling and gurgling and the water turned clear and pure again before their eyes. All who drank of the water proclaimed it as sweet as before. Children again sold lemonade on every street corner and the merchant Tompkins did a booming export business.

Their quest completed, Prince Kid and Princess Louise were married and the unicorn, whom they named Katy, led the wedding march. King Teaspoon threw a magnificent wedding feast and invited the whole kingdom to make merry. Lord and Lady Cain, along with Sir Barnett, were among the honored guests. The minstrel Ike sang the Ballad of the Unicorn Quest and Sir James of Hickok, Cody the Clown, and Buck the king’s counselor were first in line to dance with the bride. And they all lived happily ever after.

*****

“Whatcha writin’, Ike?”

Ike looked up from his notebook to see Cody approaching the bunkhouse steps where he was seated in the shade. With a quirk of his wide mouth into a half-smile, Ike shrugged. Then, feeling a need to expand upon this response, he lifted his hands to speak. “Nothing. Stuff. You know.”

“Oh, writin’ in your journal, huh?” Cody nodded sagely. “Yeah, I like ta write, too, ya know. About lotsa things. The West mostly. One o’ these days I might even sell something. Ya ever think about doin’ that?”

Ike shook his head. His hands flew into motion again. “This is just what I think about. Nobody else would want to read it.”

“Sure, I get it. Personal.”

Ike nodded agreement. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to share his thoughts exactly. He just didn’t think Cody would take too kindly to being turned into a peacock, even on paper. Some opinions were best kept private.

“That’s okay. Us authors gotta stick together.”

Ike smiled. Cody made them sound like great literary personages, which was probably how Cody saw them in his mind’s eye. Cody always did think big.

“Hey, I almost forgot the reason I come ta get ya, Ike. That new gizmo Teaspoon ordered just came and he’s fixin’ ta open it. I figured ya wouldn’t wanta miss that. I mean, it might be as dumb as that velocipede, but then again it might be as good as that ice cream freezer. With Teaspoon, ya never know. Come on.”

Cody headed back across the yard. Ike closed his book, laid it down on the steps, and got up to follow him. Cody was right. Teaspoon’s contraptions were always entertaining, whether they worked or not. Fairy tales were nice, but sometimes real life beat them all to flinders.

THE END


End file.
